Know When To Quit
by TatorTotTottish
Summary: A traumatic event and a little drama between Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps forces Judy to understand that she can't always put herself in danger, even if that means knowing when to quit. JudyxNick
1. Chapter 1

Judy Hopps sat in the driver's seat of the Zootopia Police Department SUV that had been permanently assigned to her and her partner, Nick Wilde. She was impatiently thumping her foot against the floorboard as she waited for Nick, who had unexpectedly hopped out of the car for coffee when they had stopped at a red light. After yelling out in surprise at the fox's actions, Judy had immediately put on the sirens of the car and whipped the car into a parking space in front of the shop. After parking, Judy had angry snatched up her phone in an attempt to contact Nick, but he denied her first five calls, each on the first ring. Finally, he picked up, answering with his usual sarcasm.

"Officer Wilde here."

"Nick!"

"Oh, Carrots! What a surprise."

Judy could practically _hear_ his smirk. "Nick, you can't just jump out of the car! That's dangerous! And we have a job to do!"

The fox and the rabbit had set out on a tip the ZPD had anonymously received about more possible Night Howlers being traded on the streets. The tip had been labeled as "Priority One," and frankly, the tip worried both Judy and Nick immensely. They had had enough with this flower and its all too unpleasant side effects.

Nick made a noise of disgust on the other side of the phone. "Look Rabbit, a quick coffee stop isn't going to hurt."

"Well, you should hurry back, I've got a feeling we are on to something good here."

"Having feelings now, Carrots?"

Judy rolled her eyes at his indirect flirtatious comment. "Well it doesn't take a 'feeling' to know that it doesn't take twenty minutes to get a cup of coffee."

Granted, Judy was over-exaggerating. In reality, Nick had just walked into the coffee shop, so it had actually only been a few minutes or so since his departure, but she missed him, and she wasn't about to admit it to herself, much less him.

"I'm tired," the fox whined.

"You're nocturnal."

"No coffee, no detective work."

"You act as if you were participating to begin with."

"It's a shame, I guess I got you a coffee for nothing. A bunny with an attitude never gets coffee."

"You got me a coffee?"

"How dare you."

Judy laughed at his false offended reply. She couldn't help but love Nick; whether that love was platonic or something more, she couldn't tell, but she knew that he meant a lot to her, and her to him.

"Just hurry up, okay? I'm starting to get bore- "

Muffled sounds, along with the sound of a car door opening filled Nick's ear. It sounded as if Judy had dropped her phone and then gotten out of the car.

"Carrots…? Alright, real funny, Fluff; where you at…? Hopps? _Hopps._ "

In the coffee shop, two cups of coffee dropped into a trashcan with a loud smack that splattered hot coffee. Nick was running, running fast and running hard. In seconds, he was slamming himself through the glass doors of the shop and out into the busy sidewalks of Zootopia. He stopped dead when he saw the ZPD SUV sitting unattended, the driver's seat open and Judy's phone lying on the floor of the car.

" _Carrots!_ " Nick frantically scanned the area around him, looking for any sign of anything suspicious.

" _Nick!_ "

Nick's head swiveled towards the scream. There. Just at the end of the street was Judy, sprinting at full speed after a black fox. _All that drama and she was just chasing a con?_ Nick rolled his eyes as he began running after the bunny. Nick watched as the criminal and the cop dashed around the corner at the end of the street, resulting in him picking up his pace.

"Hopps, wait!" Nick didn't need Judy getting herself into a bad situation. She had ambition and passion, but she didn't know when to quit, which had a knack of getting her into deep trouble more than once. Pushing himself to the limit, Nick slid around the corner, trying to keep up with them despite the head start they had had. His lungs burned, and his muscles screamed in protest, but he couldn't feel any of it. His head pounded with the thought of _her_ , the thought that she might currently be putting herself in danger. His thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the sound of Judy's voice crackling over his ZPD communicator: "This is Officer Hopps, I am in pursuit of suspect! Priority one! Suspect is a black fox, heading down a back alley off of Main Street! I need back up! I repeat, _I need back up!_ "

If Nick was worried before, nothing compared to what he felt now. She hadn't said his name over the ZPD radio frequency, and she had asked for back up. She thought that she was alone, and she knew she needed help. Judy liked to keep a brave face at all times, but when it came down to it, Nick knew that Judy was still afraid of foxes, with the exception of himself. She wasn't afraid of him, but she was afraid of the fox she was currently chasing. Nick grabbed his communicator from his belt.

"Carrots, back off now! He isn't worth it!"

No reply. Nick cursed himself for leaving her alone, but that was about to change. "Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps in pursuit! We need back up now!"

Nick continued running and attempting to contact Judy over the communicator now that back up had been dispatched, Judy continued to give no reply. She had officially been unresponsive for over two minutes. After what seemed like an eternity, Nick reached the opening of the alley Judy had described in her call. He had lost sight of Judy's ears – which had been his main tracking method – minutes before when she had turned into the alley. He wasn't even sure if they were still in the alley or if they were streets away. "Carrots! _Carrots!_ " Nick yelled out for her as he tried to keep his pace, but he was brought to an abrupt halt at the sight before him.

Just a meter or so away, there was Judy. She was being held down on the filthy ground of the alleyway by a clawed paw of the black fox. At this distance, Nick could see the fox was a type of silver fox, as he could make out a few silver patches of fur randomly present on the fox's back. Nick's heart skipped as he saw how close the fox's face was to Judy's, how the fox was baring his teeth at her. Judy's paws were wrapped around the fox's paw that was holding her prisoner against the ground, and her feet kicked repeatedly at the fox's clothed chest as she struggled to get free.

"Freeze!" Nick screamed at the fox as he began running down the alley toward him. The fox didn't even flinch, he only continued to lower his muzzle closer to Judy's face, his teeth flashing menacingly. Judy exerted every last bit of energy she had as she kicked, nipped, and scratched at the fox, screaming out of pure fear. " _Nick_ _!_ "

" _Judy_ _!_ "

Too late.

The fox lunged at her throat, her bloodcurdling scream echoing off of the brick walls of the alley. It was like a horror film playing in slow motion. As if by instinct, Nick removed his tranquilizer from its holster and shot immediately, the dart hitting the fox directly beneath his jaw line. A loud whine escaped the fox as the shot knocked him off of Judy and a few inches back, instantly drugging him. Nick was on Judy in seconds, his tranquilizer thrown to the side now that the threat had been eliminated. She was bleeding, and badly. Blood was pouring from the wound in her neck to the point that Nick couldn't tell where the wound's exact location was. Her soft gray fur was matted with dark red. Nick felt a lump form in his throat as he saw the amount of blood, and his immediate thoughts were filled with how futile trying to help her would be. No, he _had_ to help her.

Nick shook his head, letting his ears flop slightly, as he tried to clear his mind of anything but helping Judy. Now being more receptive of the current situation, he quickly wrapped his paws around Judy's throat to stop the bleeding. The feeling of blood, Judy's blood, almost made him gag. She was conscience, and looking right at him, her amethyst eyes piercing his emerald ones. His widened eyes stared back at her, his cheeks lightly flushed; a part of Nick couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. He and Judy never really shared much physical contact and now here he was, practically sitting on top of her as he tried to keep her blood in her body. Here he was, his partner bleeding to death underneath him, and he was more concerned about too much physical contact.

"It's going to be okay, Judy. It's going to be okay. You hang in there, Carrots." Nick managed a grimacing smile, which she briefly returned. She was fighting, and fighting hard, but Nick had no idea how long she could hold on for. Nick felt his eyes sting slightly at the thought of her dying in this alley with his paws covered in her blood. He shook his head again; now was not the time to get emotional. Readjusting so that one of his paws was applying the needed pressure to Judy's injury and the other could grab his communicator, Nick began shouting orders: "Officer down! Hopps is down! Need back up and medical attention at my location now!"

A few agonizing minutes later, the dispatched officers and an ambulance arrived. Nick was screaming commands at them in seconds. "Get the medic! No, _don't_ touch her! Get the medic! Arrest the fox!" Nick growled at anyone too near. He didn't need help with applying pressure or keeping her alive, he needed someone who could actually save her. "Alright, Judy, help is here. Stay with me here, Rabbit."

Finally, with the help of a few antelope paramedics, Judy was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Nick's paws continued to apply pressure while they loaded her onto a gurney, as he was too afraid to move. Letting go meant just that, letting go, and that was going to be the last thing he would do. The ride to the hospital seemed excruciatingly slow, despite the sirens that demanded traffic's obligation. Paramedics worked around Nick, complying with his fear to move from Judy's side. The antelope gave commands to one another, attempting to bandage Judy around Nick's paws, the only things applying compression to Judy's gaping wound.

"Keep applying pressure" was what Nick heard over and over again from the medics, but he wasn't focused on any of that; not once did Judy's eyes stray from Nick's. What was going through her head was beyond him, but Nick knew that she needed him.

"It's okay, Judy. It's going to be okay. I've got you."

Little did he know that Judy was not only thinking about how much she needed Nick, but also how much she wanted to tell him that she loved him. She didn't care what his reaction would be, she didn't care if he took it in a good or a bad way, she didn't care if he assumed it was the adrenaline talking, and she didn't care if he decided if it was a platonic or physical "I love you;" she loved him. She just didn't know if she would live long enough to tell him.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks weren't easy, but Judy made a miraculous recovery. After several surgeries, weeks of rest, and vocal exercises, Judy was almost completely healed. Besides her voice still being somewhat weak, the only other hint of the accident was a few scars over her neck from where the fox's teeth had sunk in and where they had dragged across as the tranquilizer dart took him out. Judy remained cheerful throughout it all, which honestly didn't surprise Nick. When she was feeling particularly strong, she would attempt to lecture him on how he should be out "changing the world" rather than sitting next to her in the hospital.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Rest that voice, Carrots. Wouldn't want you talking yourself to death, now would we?"

Judy would always silently chuckle at his sarcastic replies, but Nick felt pained when he saw how the attack had affected her. It bothered him to not be able to hear her laugh, to hear her strong voice, to see her jump around as she did her job. He knew that part of her was feeling a certain way about everything too, a certain way that didn't involve being cheerful. She was on leave from the ZPD for at least two months, which bothered her more than she cared to admit, and ever since the ambulance ride, their relationship seemed strained, which confused Nick. He hadn't said anything, had he? Or was she mad at him because he hadn't gotten to her before she was bitten? That bothered Nick; Judy was special to him in more ways than he could describe. The thought of her not making it and dying alone in an alley all because he stopped for coffee riddled him with guilt, but he didn't know how to address it. Should he apologize? As of now, the two would only make small chat as if everything was normal, but Nick knew that the underlying seriousness of the situation was hanging between them like a thick fog, and the fog was beginning to make them lose sight of one another.

One day, a little over a month after the attack, Judy was released from the hospital. With everything complete, she was instructed to take it easy and continue to work on building her voice back up. Without much conversation, Nick drove Judy back to his apartment, which surprised her at first.

"Nick, where are we?" she had asked, a little over a whisper.

"My apartment, Carrots."

Judy had looked at him in surprise, which Nick chuckled at. "What? You thought I was homeless? Geez, Rabbit, I'm hurt."

After parking, Nick proceeded to open the passenger door of the ZPD SUV and help Judy out of the car, much to her disliking. She didn't need help, and he knew that; it was more of a matter of keeping her safe. Nick knew that his apartment wasn't the cleanest, and certainly not as clean as Judy would have liked, but he didn't like taking her to her apartment, mainly because he knew that he would have to leave after she was settled at home, and leaving her alone was the last thing he wanted. They walked up a few flights of stairs, until they reached his apartment, where he took out a key and unlocked the door.

Judy gasped. "Oh, Nick!"

Nick cringed as Judy launched into a lecture on how filthy his apartment was, when in reality, it wasn't too bad. Yes, there were dirty dishes filling the sink and some clothes lying around the place, but Nick's apartment had been worse; to Judy, the apartment looked as if a hurricane had been through it. After what seemed like an eternity of Judy's voice in Nick's ears, she finally settled down and inspected the apartment for what it really was, and it was really quite nice. The apartment was fairly large; the living room decorated with a slightly retro style couch that was set against a beige wall opposite of a modern TV. A small kitchen joined the living room; the only thing separating the two was a countertop and an open entrance to a hallway that led to the bathroom and Nick's bedroom. Conning really paid the bills. Nick noticed Judy's rare moment of silence and took advantage of it. Shutting the door, he coaxed her to the couch with his usual sarcasm.

"Alright, Fluff, put the cottontail on the couch."

"You really should clean."

Nick rolled his eyes and gave her a side smile as he gestured towards the couch in a more demanding manner. Judy nodded and sat.

"You hungry, Carrots? I've got veggies."

Judy giggled at the thought of a fox like Nick buying vegetables, something he absolutely despised, but she declined politely.

Nick continued to press. "You sure? I better not have bought these for nothing."

Nick rummaged around in the refrigerator, his bushy tail swinging behind him. Judy gently cleared her throat.

"Nick?"

Without looking up, Nick continued to talk about buying vegetables.

"Nick."

He almost hit his head on the inside of the refrigerator as he quickly turned to her, the sound of worry in his tone. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

Nick gave her a lazy stare and a crooked grin after rolling his eyes. Judy – always talking.

"About?"

"This." She touched the scars on her neck as she spoke softly.

Nick's sarcastic face turned serious as his ears bent back against his head. She patted the seat next to her, but Nick continued to stand in the kitchen and look at her over the counter, refusing to fully acknowledge the conversation.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with the same nonchalant tone and expression.

"Yes," Judy stated clearly. "There is something wrong with us," she stated clearly.

Nick tensed. There it was. He knew it was coming, but he didn't know that it would be now, right after they had gotten home and settled. Nick's first reaction was to shrug it off as he managed to chuckle a reply.

"With us? What, we got a deal now?"

Judy's manner and expression remained calm and slightly sad; she knew that he was trying to get out of it by flirting.

"We do, Nick."

That stopped him, and he was tense once more. Nick lightly leaned against the kitchen counter as he waited for her to officially begin the conversation.

"I'm okay," she finally declared after a few moments of silence.

Nick's emotions exploded, anger and pain flooding his tone and expression immediately. "Okay? _Okay_? You are definitely not okay!"

"I am," she replied calmly.

"You just had your throat ripped out by a fox! A fox!" Nick yelled, emphasizing with his paws.

"I know that."

"You know that? Well, do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Yes."

Nick scoffed and turned away as he put his paws to his head, his ears still pressed firmly back against his head. He felt like a child trying to explain himself, while Judy's voice remained calm and quiet, trying to mediate the situation. "This wasn't your fault, Nick."

"Sure it wasn't. I'm sure you would have still been attacked even if I were in the car," Nick muttered sarcastically.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?" He wheeled to face her, his voice rising once again. Judy stood up and made her way to the counter.

"Yes, you do," she said haughtily. "It bothers you that you weren't there. It bothers you that I was hurt. It bothers you that I was injured badly and you didn't get there before that happened. I understand… but that was what happened."

Nick shook his head sadly. "Carrots, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten out of the car-"

"Those things bother you, but not as much as the fact that I was attacked by a fox."

Nick's breath caught. She was right. "Yes, that bothers me," he admitted quietly.

"Is that why I'm at your apartment instead of mine?"

"Yes. Well, no. Kinda?"

"Are you afraid I'm going to be attacked again?"

"Yes," Nick sighed. "I am."

"Do you think I can't handle myself?"

"No, that's not it," Nick argued. "This is different, Hopps-"

"My name is Judy."

Nick's eyes widened; he had always called her nicknames, only sometimes using her first name, but she had never really corrected him. She continued on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Do you think I can't handle myself?"

"That's not the point-"

"Then what is?" she demanded, her voice beginning to rise.

"You need to rest your voice. We don't need to do this now," Nick said as he walked around the corner and attempted to guide her to the couch, but just then, Judy pulled her bottle of fox repellant from the front pocket of her jeans and slammed it onto the countertop.

"Answer me, Wilde."

She fixed him with a stare that could have killed.

"That was a bold move," Nick remarked dryly. Judy was easy to fluster, but never to really anger, so Nick put his hands up in defense as he now tried to deflate the growing situation.

"What is the point?" she pressed again, staring intently at Nick.

"You don't know when to quit," Nick said firmly.

"And?"

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"I've been attacked before! We're cops, these things happen."

"This is different," Nick shot back.

"I've been attacked by a fox before, Nick!"

Nick's jaw dropped slightly. "What did you just say?"

"I've. Been. Attacked. By. A. Fox. Before."

Nick took a step closer to her, trying to understand what she had just said. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "When did this happen?"

"It doesn't matter, it happened when I was a kid."

"I told you about what happened to me as a kid."

"That mattered."

"And this doesn't?" Nick scoffed. "You need to know when to quit. I can't just stand by and watch you get killed!"

"You won't, Nick."

Nick threw his paws up in aggravation as he let a noise of frustration escape his throat; there was no arguing with her at this point. He suddenly took a more aggressive approach.

"Did you even try to protect yourself, did you even use this?" Nick reached for the fox repellant, but Judy grabbed it before his paw could even get within an inch of it.

He recoiled slowly. "Don't tell me you're afraid of me."

She looked away, not answering.

"Did you use that stuff on that fox? Did you even try to?" Nick demanded once more. Judy looked on the verge of tears, but she still didn't answer.

"Please, answer me," Nick pleaded, his voice now soft.

She turned swiftly and spun away from him. Nick gave Judy a disheartened look as realization struck him.

"You didn't defend yourself against that fox, but… you would against me."

Judy shook her head as she searched for the words to negate his claim. "No, that's not it at all-"

Nick dropped his key ring on the countertop; his house keys, ZPD badge, and the keys to the SUV sat between them.

"I need some air," Nick muttered before he turned away and opened the door. Judy was at his heels in an instant as he stepped out into the outdoor hallway of the apartment floor.

"Nick, please. Please stop! Just wait!"

She grabbed for his arm, but he shrugged her off, only turning to look her in the eye as he said what she was dreading: "Goodbye, Judy."


	3. Chapter 3

Nick didn't come back to his apartment after that day. Judy, however, remained. Nick would have assumed she didn't leave because she was too afraid of being attacked, but Judy was actually just waiting him out; she was going to wait until he came home and then they would have a conversation about what had happened, but as hours turned into days and days turned into weeks, Judy began to feel more unsure about Nick's return. Judy slept on the couch, never venturing too far into the apartment. When Nick came back - if Nick came back - she didn't want to anger him by being a snoop. Yet Nick didn't return, and Judy found herself completely healed with her voice strong once again as she woke one morning to prepare for her return to work. Staring in the mirror, Judy adjusted the collar of her shirt to hide her permanent scars as best as she could. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at the thought of returning to work, the thought of seeing Nick. Had he gotten a new partner? Had he transferred to a different precinct? Was he even still a cop?

Exactly how upset Nick was, she didn't know, but she knew that she had to fix their relationship… whatever that relationship was. Judy grabbed Nick's keys off of the kitchen counter, which hadn't been touched since he had left them there, and exited the apartment, locking the door behind her. After a drive that seemed too short to be real, Judy parked the car and sighed as she looked up at the ZPD building. Here we go.

Judy was instantly swarmed after stepping inside, something she completely expected. Officers and colleagues she hadn't seen in two months wanted to know what happened, how she was doing, and what she was going to do next. She smiled and answered their questions accordingly, only stopping to wave briefly at Clawhauser, who was seated at the reception desk.

"Okay, guys, I've got to go make the world a better place."

With her usual cheesy line, the crowd dispersed, leaving Judy to a cheerful Clawhauser who had patiently waited his turn to interrogate her.

"Judy! How are you? Oh, I'm sure everyone has already asked you that, though, huh!"

Judy laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, just believe me when I say I'm fine," Judy replied distractedly as she looked around. "Clawhauser, have you seen Nick?"

"Yep, in the offices!"

Judy nodded at the cheerful cheetah before bidding him farewell as she went off in search of Nick. She walked through the set of glass doors that led to the office cubicles of the ZPD call center and made her way down the rows to her very own cubicle. A brief look into her cubicle told her that she had more than a bit of paperwork to do, but that wasn't her main concern at the moment. Turning to the cuticle across from hers, Judy found Nick reclining in his chair, his attention turned to his computer as he typed out something that looked like a report. Judy's heart fluttered as she prepared to do much more than just apologize to Nick for what had happened. Taking a step forward so that she was standing in the entrance of the cuticle, Judy opened her mouth to speak. "Ni-"

"No time to chat, Carrots, we've got a lead," Nick cut her off as he swiveled his chair around and hopped up, sweeping past an awe-struck Judy as he did so. Without another word, Judy followed.

To say the drive was awkward would be an understatement. Well, to say the drive was awkward would be an understatement for Judy; for Nick, it was just another day on the job. Nick propped his feet up on the dash and reclined in the passenger seat of their assigned ZPD SUV as he looked out of the rolled down window through his sunglasses, but Judy sat rigid at the steering wheel, watching his every move in anticipation. She almost jumped out of the car when he asked her to stop for coffee, which he chuckled at. Judy pulled into the same parking space in front of the same coffee shop as usual. After stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind him, Nick propped his arms on the open window and peered over his sunglasses at Judy.

"Want anything, Darling?"

Judy looked at him, her ears drooping slightly. Was he seriously leaving her alone in the car so that he could get coffee again?

"No," she replied shortly. "No, thank you, Nick."

Nick shrugged and pushed his sunglasses back up his snout before turning away and sauntering into the coffee shop. Judy let out a shaky sigh and rested her head on the steering wheel. What was going on? The passenger door suddenly opened, making her jump and give a small yelp in surprise. Nick froze a moment before sliding smoothly into the seat beside her, a coffee in his hand.

"That was fast," the rabbit commented.

Nick only shrugged and took a sip from the cup he was holding. Judy was slightly taken aback. He hadn't gotten her coffee, and usually when he asked her what she wanted and she turned him down, he still surprised her with something. Something definitely felt wrong. Without a second glance, Judy pulled out of the parking space and began driving. Moments later, she stopped the vehicle and put it in park before turning the key to stop the engine.

"This isn't the location, Fluff, we are supposed to be heading to the Rainforest District," Nick said as he removed his sunglasses and examined the area outside of the car.

They were parked in a large dusty alley, just off of Main Street. Nick froze slightly, but then smoothly resumed reclining in his seat.

"What's the deal, Hopps?"

Judy turned to him, a somewhat hard expression on her face.

"What's the deal? How about what's _your_ deal?"

"I don't have a deal."

"Oh, you most certainly do," Judy shot back, her voice beginning to rise in volume and in pitch with each syllable. "Why are you acting so strange? And what is this lead _we_ are investigating? Last I checked you were your own partner."

Nick took another sip of his coffee and swallowed slowly, savoring every bit of it; it pushed Judy to the edge.

"Nick!"

Another sip of coffee. Then, Nick removed his sunglasses and set his coffee on the dash before turning to face Judy.

"I'm not acting strange, Carrots, but frankly, you are."

Judy let out a noise of disgust. "We fight and you disappear for weeks, and not only from me but from your own apartment! You call that 'not acting strange,' Nick?"

"Yep."

"Well how about the fact that you just go back to work as if nothing happened? As if _this_ didn't happen!" Judy pulled down the collar of her shirt to show him her very distinct scars. "Don't tell me that that is 'not acting strange' Nick!"

"Look, Carrots, if you aren't ready to get back to work, that's fine. Take a few more weeks off, but I've got a case to crack," Nick answered nonchalantly.

Judy was on the edge of her seat in seconds. " _How dare you?_ You are supposed to be my partner, my friend, and you are treating me like a stuffed toy!"

"Nope, simply trying to solve a case."

"And since when is a case more important than me, Nicholas Wilde?" Judy huffed at him angrily.

"When the case involves the con who did _that_!" Nick yelled back at her, finally falling into the fight.

Judy flinched slightly; he had been so quiet until just then, but now he was just as tense as her, his eyes staring her down as he breathed heavily.

"You think I don't care, Judy? Is that it? Because let me tell you, you have missed the mark. Even after what happened in my apartment, even after you _proved_ that you were afraid of me, I have still spent weeks trying to track down the-the _monster_ that did this to you! So don't sit here and tell me that I am acting strange and that I am treating you like a toy, because I am the only one who cared enough to do something about it," Nick yelled, his chest heaving with each sentence he spat at her.

Nick was never violent or very loud, but he had shown Judy for the second time now what he was like when he was really hurt, and just when she thought he would suffocate himself from all of the yelling, his voice turning to a whisper and he looked away from her.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell," he sighed. "You don't know what that was like. Not hearing you respond, not seeing where you were running to, not knowing how much danger you might be in. You don't know how far my heart dropped when I saw you there, on the ground, underneath that fox as if you were nothing more than a piece of food. And then-" Nick stopped as he inhaled deeply. "And then seeing the fear in your eyes when I tried to take that spray. All of the trust and love in our relationship gone in an instant, all because of something another animal did."

Judy was speechless, but for one horrid moment, she thought that their relationship was broken, broken to a point that picking up the pieces was only going to continue to tear them apart, and the thought of that hurt her more than any physical pain.

"Nick, I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"You shouldn't apologize. I'm making this about myself when you were there. I should be apologizing."

Judy fell silent, mulling the situation over. There was no easy way to solve all of the problems they were currently facing, so she tried to make sense of the case aspect of the situation. "I don't understand, though. I thought you darted him."

"I did dart him."

Judy waited for the answer that he wasn't supplying, but it never came, leaving her to put her paws up and give him a look that urged him to explain.

"I darted him, and we arrested him, but he…well, he-"

"He what?"

"He went savage," Nick said with a shake of his head. "He went savage right before he bit you. He wasn't being himself."

"The Night Howlers we were investigating that day?"

"Looks like it." Nick took another slow sip of coffee before putting his sunglasses over his eyes, sliding back into his usual demeanor.

"So, when you said that you were tracking down the monster who did this?"

"I was talking about the one who got the Night Howlers into the fox's system." With a final swig from his coffee cup, Nick turned to Judy and peered at her over his sunglasses once more. "Now, are we going to the Rainforest District or what?"

Judy gave a small nod and started the engine once more. The drive was short, but it was enough time for Nick to brief Judy on what had taken place in the last few weeks.

"So, you think you have an idea of how the Night Howlers got into his body?" Judy asked.

"Not exactly. It's hard to tell how the stuff got into his system, especially with how difficult it is to even know that the Night Howlers are the culprits; you would only know if you'd seen it before," Nick said as he shot a look at Judy over his sunglasses. "And we've seen it before."

Judy chuckled as she kept her eyes on the road ahead. "'Seen it' is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?"

Nick fidgeted with the controls of the radio as he chuckled lightly at her joke. "Alright, Carrots, turn right up here."

Judy complied, parking the car in an open space on the street after turning onto one of the roads that eventually twisted into a massive tree branch. The two exited the vehicle and began making their way up the branch to a series of homes in the trees.

"What's the lead?" Judy asked as she took in her surroundings.

"We are going to talk to someone who may have useful information in the case," Nick replied as he stepped up to one of the homes and rapped his paw against the wooden door.

"Okay, who are we talking to?"

The door opened, revealing a black fox who was about the same build and weight as Nick. Nick put his paw out and shook the fox's in greeting as Judy stood off to the side stock-still. Flashes of teeth and blood crossed her mind, the sound of her own scream filling her ears all over again as she stared at the fox in the doorway.

"Mr. Silver, I'm Officer Wilde and this is my partner, Officer Hopps. You two have met."


	4. Chapter 4

" _Nick!_ "

Nick's ears flicked as Judy's hiss reached them, but he gave no other sign that he had heard her.

"May we come in, Mr. Silver?"

Mr. Silver nodded gravely and stepped aside to let them enter. His home was small and simple, not much bigger than Nick's apartment, with wooden floors and furniture decorating the place. Nick took a seat at the oak kitchen bar, his sunglasses propped up on his head. Mr. Silver quickly followed his lead and took a seat opposite of Nick, leaving Judy standing awkwardly at the entrance.

"Come on, Carrots," Nick urged in a whisper.

Judy, however, stood frozen with a look of pure fear on her face. Nick turned his attention to the black fox. "Can we have a minute?"

"Of course!" The fox replied, almost jumping from his seat. "I'll be out on the back porch reading the paper, let me know when you need me."

With a scurry, the back door opened and closed, leaving Nick and Judy alone in the fox's home. Nick waited for Judy to take the first action, but she never did, and as the minutes passed, Nick knew that he would have to do the talking.

"Carrots, why are you standing out in the rain?"

It had started to lightly drizzle when they had first arrived, but the rain had increased to a downpour in the time Nick had gotten comfortable in Mr. Silver's home. Judy now stood soaked to the bone just outside of the doorway with no intention of moving anytime soon. Nick sighed and stood up from the stool at the bar. With a final look over his shoulder at the bunny, Nick went out to the back porch, where Mr. Silver sat fidgeting nervously with a newspaper. Like the rest of the home, the back patio was made up of wood, with a miniature canopy secluding it from the rest of the world and the rain. Mr. Silver dropped his newspaper on the glass table in front of him as soon as his eyes fell on Nick's figure coming through the back door.

"I just have a few questions, Mr. Silver."

"Please, call me Thomas."

"Alright, Thomas." Nick settled into the outdoor patio chair across the table from the fox and took out a legal pad with Judy's famous carrot pen. Nick's face downturned slightly at the sight of the pen, but he quickly turned his attention back to Mr. Silver, his expression now serious. "Why were you running from my partner on the day in question?"

"I was afraid."

"Why were you afraid?"

"I-I was recently working for a g-group that was known for its… unsavory ways."

"What did you do for this group?"

"I am a doctor, so I supplied medical advice and supplies."

"Do you know the name of this group's leader?"

"N-no, I didn't even know the name of the group! I was just called upon when I was needed."

"They were working with Night Howlers."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement, a statement that hung in the air like moisture, a statement that was as deadly as a knife.

"Y-yes. Yes, t-they were," the silver fox admitted.

"Did you ever come in contact with the Night Howlers?"

"No, not until t-that day."

"Do you know how the Night Howlers came in contact with you?

"No, but I imagine that I was set up."

"Yes, I imagine that too." Nick watched as the doctor squirmed nervously under his gaze that remained serious yet indifferent.

"D-did I really do what those officers said I did… to that officer?"

"Yes, you did, Thomas."

"And that's h-her… inside?"

"Yes, her name is Judy."

The fox looked down, his own actions appalling his morals. "I-I don't even r-remember!"

"Look, Thomas, these things happen."

"These things don't just happen!" The fox was in hysterics, and Nick honestly didn't have the time to calm him down.

"I have everything I need." Nick held up the legal pad that was now stained with several different notes. "If you need anything, you have my number," Nick said curtly as he stood and made his way to the back door to go back through the house. "Thank you, Mr. Silver."

Nick found Judy sitting in the passenger seat of the ZPD SUV, her fur thoroughly soaked, and her eyes focused on staring at the floor of the car; her expression gave a depressed appearance. Without a word, he slid into the driver's seat, his own fur matted from the heavy rain. "Judy?"

"You've called me that a lot lately."

"You told me that that was your name," Nick chuckled lightly, which received a small smile from Judy before her face turned grave again.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You're my partner."

"That's not what I meant."

Nick sighed and brushed his paw across his face. "I know."

A few moments of silence passed, the only sound being the soft pitter-patter of the rain hitting the windows of the car outside.

"I don't know why I brought you here, honestly," Nick sighed. "Part of me wanted you to see that he wasn't a bad guy, that is wasn't his fault, but I knew that that wasn't going to change your opinion of what he did. It didn't change mine. He doesn't even remember any of it; he only knows what he has been told, and that will bother him for who knows how long. That just makes me angry."

Judy looked up at Nick, now focusing on his expressions with every word he spoke.

"It makes me angry to see him only care about his own guilt," Nick continued. "And not about what actually happened, but that's just how this goes."

Nick's paw brushed over his face again as he shook his head. "Look, I don't like fighting, Judy. I overreacted. I know that you trust me. I know that you would have used that fox spray on that guy if you had had the opportunity to do so. I know that you were just too afraid to do so. I just want everything to be normal again."

Silence filled the vehicle once more.

"You foxes, so emotional," Judy giggled quietly as she watched a grin slowly spread across Nick's face. In moments, Nick was laughing.

"I'm emotional? You're the emotional one, Carrots."

Nick and Judy sat and laughed at one another's emotions for quite some time. The two laughed until the rain stopped, they laughed until their sides hurt, they laughed until they couldn't believe what had happened in the last few weeks. When the laughter died down, Nick stretched out an arm and brought Judy across the middle seat to his side. To his relief, she let him hold her against him as they both sat in the driver's seat and hugged for the first time in months.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Judy murmured.

"No, _I'm_ sorry, Judy… Now get off me, we have a case to solve."


	5. Chapter 5

"Nick, if you get out of this car one more time, I'm going to run you over with it! I won't regret it either, Wilde!" Judy screamed out of the open window of the car as she pulled off of Main Street to park for the hundredth time in front of the coffee shop.

It had been a month since Nick and Judy had paid a visit to Mr. Silver, and for the most part, the case had gone cold, which frustrated Nick more than he liked to admit, but there was nothing to do at this moment in time. They had been on their way to Nick's apartment after a long day at work when Nick had jumped out of the car at a red light in the intersection in front of his favorite coffee shop… again.

Judy had been absentmindedly telling Nick a story of how Clawhauser had stolen a box of donuts from her that morning when she had looked over to discover an empty passenger seat. Stopping mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open, Judy had then looked up to see Nick's bushy tail sauntering toward the shop. After parking more aggressively than intended, Judy began muttering angrily about how she hoped Nick would choke on a pawpsicle when her car door suddenly flew open, making her scream loudly.

"Chill, Fluff! I'm just opening the door for you!" Nick smirked as he held out a paw to a stunned Judy, who rolled her eyes before taking his paw and letting him help her out of the SUV.

"Why are we getting coffee at this time of night?" Judy whined.

"We aren't."

"Then why did you just jump out of a moving vehicle?"

"I waited until you stopped."

"I was stopped at a red light!"

"Look, are you hungry or not?"

Judy had been following Nick without paying much attention to her surroundings, but as she took the time to focus on something other than Nick, she realized that they were now standing in front of a cute little diner just a few stores down from the coffee shop.

"Uh, yeah, I am," she admitted absentmindedly.

With a smirk, Nick held the door open for her before the two walked inside, where they were greeted by an array of delightful aromas from the variety of food being cooked. The dinner-hour kept the staff moving and the diner buzzing with animals of all kinds. A beautiful young white-tailed doe approached them immediately.

"Hello! Table for two?" she asked in a pleasant voice.

Judy now understood that Nick was taking her out to dinner, but she didn't think much of it, they ate out a lot. She quickly took control of the situation. "Yes-"

"Uh, no, actually," Nick interrupted. "Just picking up an order. Thanks anyway." Judy shot a puzzled look at Nick, who made his way past the confused hostess and straight to the kitchen. The diner clearly wasn't a take-out kind of place.

Judy thanked the hostess once more before following after him.

"'Ey, Nicky!" A massive grizzly bear in an apron gave Nick a toothy grin from over the closed service counter that led to the kitchen.

Nick acknowledged him with a half-salute. "Griz. You got my order?"

The bear roared in laughter, his accent heavy in reply. "What kinda question is that, Nicky? 'Do I got your orda?' HA, 'course I got your orda!"

The bear tossed a large paper sack over the counter, which Nick nonchalantly caught with both paws. "One Veggie Special and one Predatory Meal."

"Thanks, Griz."

Nick turned to leave, gesturing for Judy to follow him, but the bear's voice rang out once more.

"Ho, ho, ho! Wait up now, Nicky, is this _that gurl_? Huh, this that gurl you keep talking 'bout?"

Turning back to the bear, Nick put on a lazy expression, the expression of a true con artist. Nick effortlessly passed the paper bag off to Judy as he made his way back to the counter, where he propped himself up on one paw as he leaned in close to where the gigantic bear was waiting impatiently.

"This girl?" Nick lazily threw an arm up to gesture towards Judy.

The bear let out a chuckle, the volume almost as loud as Judy's full laugh. "Don't play games with me, Nicky. That the gurl or what?"

Nick ran his paw over his ears as if he were slicking them back, and Judy found herself glowering at his false bravado.

"Oh, yeah, Griz. That's the girl."

The bear was clearly entertained by the show Nick was putting on as he let out another string of laughter.

"Ho, ho, ho, Nicky boy! Look at ya, who knew you woulda tied yourself down to one gurl!"

Big mistake.

Nick's eyes widened at the bear, knowing what was going to come next.

"Shall we go, _Nicholas_?" Judy's false sickly-sweet voice rang out, Nick's full name dripping in sarcasm as she over-enunciated each syllable. She smirked as she noticed him cringe at the use of his full name.

The bear roared in laughter, his whole body shaking as he let his head fall back with the guffaw. Nick rolled his eyes and turned to see Judy thumping her foot impatiently against the tiled floor. He couldn't help but take in every detail of her in that moment. She was wearing a light purple t-shirt a little too large for her small physique, with black leggings that fit her perfect legs - one of her favorite "after-work" outfits. Nick's eyes passed over her face. Her nose was scrunched and her amethyst eyes burned as she continued to give him a bitter look. His gaze then swept over her neck, over the unmistakable scars. They hadn't talked about _that_ in over a month. Yes, they talked about the case that began with that incident, but it was an unspoken thing between them now. Thankfully, it wasn't a thing that put weight on either one of them or their relationship; it was just something that hung around, like dust in the air. In the last three months, the months filled with scars, pain, worry, scares, tears, and fights, Nick had realized how much Judy meant to him, which is why he had been planning this night for a while now. He had actually started planning a dinner at his place with her way before Judy's injury, but had to put the plan on hold for her sake. All at once, he knew that it was now or never, and he was never going to choose any time other than now.

Coming back to reality, Nick noticed that Griz was still laughing to the point of being in stitches. "She got a chain on you, don't she Nicky? HA!"

"Yeah, yeah she does." The answer was to himself more than anyone else.

Nick then turned and followed Judy out of the restaurant. The two drove back to Nick's apartment, where they unpacked the food and sat on Nick's retro sofa as they ate.

"Nick?" Judy inquired after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Did you try some of my Predator Meal?"

"What? No!"

Nick snorted. "I won't judge, Carrots, everybody has instincts."

"I didn't eat your food, Nick," Judy giggled.

"Well then you don't have to tell me anything."

"Nick, come on, I'm serious!"

"I'm serious, too! Unless you're telling me that you've done something crazy, I'm not listening."

Judy laughed at Nick as he stuck his tongue out at her, his childish side becoming more apparent by the second as the night grew later. It was a little past midnight, and they were now wrapped up in a large blanket on Nick's couch watching old movies that were being rerun on television. Long finished, the food had been delicious, and since they weren't working an early shift the next morning, the two decided to live the nightlife together for once, but as time ticked by Judy began to think of somewhat emotionally personal things in between the giggle fits Nick was spurring.

"Can I, though?" she inquired again.

"Can you what?"

"Tell you something!"

"Oh, right, sure," Nick shrugged.

Judy moved out from underneath the blanket so that she could lean over the couch and flick the light switch to the "on" position.

"Carrots, stop trying to make me look at your butt," Nick remarked behind her.

Judy snorted with laughter as she fell back onto the couch, the lights now on and illuminating the apartment. "Nick, I know that we haven't talked in a while…"

"We talk every day. That's not enough anymore?" Nick chuckled as he rested an arm across the head of the couch, his body reclining against the cushions, a clear sign that he was more than comfortable.

"I mean about the… the _thing_."

Nick's ears flattened. "I thought we resolved that."

"We did."

"Well, did I do something? Say something?"

"No, not at all," Judy reassured him quickly. "That's not it."

"Then what is it?" Nick remained relaxed, but something about his posture gave a slightly tense look as the conversation continued on.

"Nick, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't like talking about this."

"Not particularly, no."

Judy went quiet, crossing her arms and looking at the opposite wall as she thought of what to say next. The situation had turned somewhat fragile, which is not what she intended.

"Carrots?" His voice made her turn her attention to him once more, but he seemed to have regained his soft composure, so she pressed further.

"You told me what was going through your head that day, so I wanted to tell you what was going through mine."

There it was, a flash in his eyes, a twitch of his ear, a slight readjustment in his position; he was increasingly uncomfortable.

"I think I can take a guess at that," Nick said as he stood and made his way to the kitchen.

Judy watched as he poured himself a glass of water and then lean his weight against the counter just beside the refrigerator.

"Really? Take a guess then."

Nick's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he watched a shadow of a smile flicker across the bunny's face. "What are you playing at, Fluff?"

"I just think you'll be surprised."

"Surprised?" Nick gave her an astonished look. "Look, Carrots, I know you were afraid and you were bleeding pretty badly. God knows how much pain you were in, and-and… I don't see the point in talking about it," Nick finished lamely as he looked down at his glass of water that was sitting on the counter and nudged it with his right paw.

"That's not it," Judy giggled, and Nick shot her another astounded facial expression.

"I don't find this funny."

The giggling instantly ceased. "I don't either."

"Then what is the point in this?" Nick exited the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the rest of the apartment.

Judy heard his bedroom door shut behind him, guilt flooding through her at the sound of the door snapping into the frame. Remaining on the couch, Judy waited, twiddling her paws as she did so. After a short span of time, Judy rose from the couch and made her way to Nick's bedroom door, where she hesitated before softly knocking on the door.

"Nick?" she called out in a delicate tone. "I'm sorry. I don't find this funny." Judy looked at the floor, her cheek almost brushing the door. "I just wanted to tell you someth- Oh!"

Nick's door swung open, making Judy jump back in surprise. Her face turned a bright shade of pink as she became increasingly aware of how close she had been to the door, but her face flushed a ferocious red at the side of Nick, who was shirtless. " _Oh!_ "

Nick's eyes narrowed in bewilderment at her immediate change in color. He was standing with the shirt he had just taken off in one paw and a new red t-shirt in the other.

"What? Were you saying something? I was just changing into a different shirt."

Judy's face remained flushed as she looked at the beige wall of the hallway, then the wooden floor, then the white ceiling; she was looking anywhere but at Nick.

"I-I thought you were mad at me, and I-I just was going to – well, I guess – never mind."

"I'm not mad, why would I be?" Nick said, confused. "I was just getting a more comfortable shirt on. What were you going to tell me?"

"I-it's nothing – really, I-I'm going to go and… and finish the movie, yeah, finish the movie – oh God, _please put a shirt on_."

Nick looked down at his bare chest and then up at Judy, a smirk spreading across his face as realization dawned on him.

"Ohhhhh, okay, I get it, Carrots," he said with a very pleased look.

Judy's appearance turned another bright shade of red as she turned and swiftly made her way back to the living room, Nick following behind her as he pulled the red shirt over his head, his light green button-up Hawaiian shirt still in his grasp.

"Aww, did I make you uncomfortable, Carrots?" Nick grinned uncontrollably.

"Let's not talk about it." Judy muttered as she turned away from him and walked to the other side of the kitchen counter, putting a barrier between them.

"Okay, okay. We can stop talking about it… for now." Another smirk.

Judy made a noise of disgust. "You will never let me live this down."

"Definitely not."

Judy shot Nick a look of pure annoyance.

Nick only shrugged. "Well, Rabbit?"

"'Well' what?"

"Are you going to tell me what you were going to tell me or not, Fluff?"

"The moment's over."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

" _Ugh_ , please don't."

"Don't what?"

 _"_ _Do that_ ," Judy gestured forward with a paw.

"Do what?"

"Look at me like I just walked in on you naked."

"But you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Sure, you didn't," Nick drawled sarcastically.

Judy could tell that Nick was thoroughly enjoying the moment, enjoying the fact that he had her backed into a corner, a corner she had no hope of getting out of any time soon.

"Alright, now spill it," he said, a smirk still plastered on his face.

Judy shook her head in aggravation. Maybe now was not the time to tell him. "When that fox bit me, I was obviously afraid, but then you were there, and you were talking to me, and…" Judy's voice trailed off as she thought back to what he had said to her.

 _"It's going to be okay, Judy… It's going to be okay… You hang in there, Carrots... It's okay, Judy… I've got you."_

"And?" Nick leaned his weight against the counter, his face now closer to Judy's than it was a moment before. The embarrassing-giggly atmosphere had turned considerably serious, but it was a respectable serious, the kind of serious that starts a realistic conversation.

"And I realized how much you mean to me," Judy finished.

"I felt that way too, Carrots."

"I know, you told me that, but I felt – well, I felt more."

"More?"

"I, uhm, well…"

"Come on, Carrots, I'm on the edge of my seat!" Nick laughed lightheartedly as he gave her a reassuring smile before picking his previously poured glass of water up from the table and taking a sip of it.

"I think I-" Judy stumbled. "No, I know I-I love you. I love you, Nick."

Glass shattered as Nick's water tumbled from his paws onto the counter between them.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh!"

Water splattered all over Judy and Nick as the glass came into contact with the hard surface between them.

"Nick!"

Nick was frozen solid, his paw still in the same position near his mouth as when he had the glass to his lips and his eyes wide as he seemed to stare at nothing. Judy was nervous by his reaction, but that didn't keep her from huffing in frustration at the water that was soaking through her shirt and fur. After fetching a towel, mopping up the water on the counter and the water that had dripped onto the wooden floors, and sweeping the broken glass into the trash can, Judy gave one final look at Nick, who was still a statue, before making her way to the bathroom to clean herself up. However, a paw grabbing her arm stopped her.

"Here."

Nick handed her his famous Hawaiian shirt, which she took without a word. Gaging his reaction – well, there wasn't one; his face remained an emotionless canvas. Without a second look, Judy hurried to the bathroom, where she changed out of her soaked purple t-shirt into Nick's button-up. It was much too large for her; even rolling up the sleeves that came down to her wrists, the shirt still fell down to a point just above her feet. It was weird, but very comforting. Judy had to shake away her thoughts when they started to drift off to how much the shirt smelled like him. Exiting the small bathroom and coming back out of the hallway, Judy's eyes darted to the clock on the far wall of the living room.

2:04.

Nick was still standing by the kitchen counter, his back facing her, but it was clear that he had moved, as his shirt was changed for the third time that night. Judy opened her mouth to speak, to apologize, to take back what she said, but he turned around and completely shocked her. He swept her up in a tight hug, her feet coming off of the ground.

Judy cried out with laughter. "Nick, what are you-"

"You know what, Rabbit? I love you too; you're like a sister to me."

What.

Judy wriggled out of his embrace. "Whoa, wait, like a _what_?" Her face was etched with distress.

Nick let out a laugh that filled the apartment. "Whew, did I get you. You should have seen your face, Fluff; that was one for the books."

Judy punched him in the arm. "That wasn't funny!" she said indignantly.

"Oh, I disagree," Nick laughed as his expression returned to its usual lazy appearance.

Judy scoffed at his trick. "Sly fox."

"Dumb bunny."

The two shared a moment of laughter before Judy took matters into her own paws. "We should really get to bed," she reasoned.

"After what you just said? That's hardly fair."

Judy shrugged. "That was just kind of it, you know?"

Nick gave her a humored look. "I most certainly do not know, but if you're tired, I get it. I'll get you some blankets and pillows."

A few minutes later, Nick returned with an armful of bedding, which Judy used to create a makeshift bed on Nick's couch. The two then awkwardly bid each other good night before parting ways.

Neither one of them slept very well that night as thoughts of the other filled their heads; Nick shifted at the thought of not expressing his feelings, and Judy fidgeted at the remembrance of Nick's original reaction. Both silently told themselves that they would talk eventually, that everything would be out in the open soon, and with that, the two fell asleep with nothing but love on their minds.

Hours later, Judy let her eyes flutter open as she took in the sight of daylight streaming through the window and the sounds of Zootopia outside. Slowly sitting up and stretching dreamily, Judy glanced at the clock before going rigid.

It was 12:48.

Their shift began in twelve minutes.

"We overslept! Nick!" Judy raced to the end of the hallway and began pounding on the door.

With no immediate reply, Judy threw the door open, the knob slamming against the wall behind it.

"Nick! Get up!"

Nick was lying on his side, the blankets wrapped around his waist as he continued to sleep the day away. If not for her being in a scramble to get to work, Judy might have taken the time to note how peaceful he looked.

" _Nick_! Get! Up! _Now_!"

Nick was groggily stumbling to his feet in seconds. "Wazgoinon?"

"We're late! Get up!"

With a groan, Nick collapsed back onto the bed.

"Too tired," he mumbled into the pillows.

Judy picked up a pillow that had fallen on the floor and began beating him over the head with it. "Get up!"

"Ah, okay!" Nick attempted to shield himself with his paws and then the blankets.

"Get your butt out of bed, Wilde!" Judy gave Nick one final smack before dropping the pillow and running back to the living room, where she snatched up her and Nick's keys and badges before running back into the bedroom.

Nick was sitting up on the edge of the bed, rubbing the ruffled fur on the top of his head and ears.

"Let's go!" Judy shouted as she grabbed his arm and dragged him from the bedroom and out the front door, leaving the apartment a mess of dirty dishes and wrinkled bedding.

Judy sped to the ZPD, her foot never leaving the accelerant. She barely noticed that Nick was gripping onto the seat with his claws, his eyes wide in fear as he held on for dear life. Judy had barely put the car in park before she was flying out of the seat and into the ZPD, while Nick sauntered in behind her.

"We're here!" Judy shouted as soon as she was through the glass doors.

Every animal in the lobby and in the hallway balconies overlooking the lobby stopped and stared at the disheveled bunny. Judy froze at the thought of how crazy she must look. She hadn't meant to make such an extreme entrance, she was just a little bedraggled and frantic.

Nick chuckled as he walked in, a spring in his step, a look of pure enjoyment in his features.

"Carrots," he called quietly.

Judy turned and glanced at Nick, her face already slightly red from her embarrassing outburst.

"I know, I know. Don't say it," she pleaded quietly.

"Rabbit, as much as I would love to tell you how embarrassing that was, you should look down."

Judy gave him a perplexed look before Nick pointed at her shirt, directing her attention downward. A gasp escaped her lips before she looked back up at Nick. Her entrance had been embarrassing and awkward, but not as much as what she was wearing.

" _Why didn't you say anything_?" she hissed at him.

Nick shrugged as he took in the amount of attention they were receiving.

"We were going to change at work anyway. Guess I didn't give it much thought, but I guess I also didn't expect you to announce yourself," Nick sniggered.

Judy slowly turned to face the reception desk, where Clawhauser was giving her a very animated look. Dropping her head in shame, she began walking past the dozens of pairs of eyes to the ZPD offices. She tried not to think about the number of her colleagues who were looking at the bright Hawaiian shirt that was draped around her figure, the shirt that most certainly wasn't hers.

Judy had barely made it six feet when the Chief's deep voice rang out. "Hopps! Wilde! My office now!"

"Oh God," Judy whispered, mortified. She could hear Nick take a deep breath as he tried to swallow his laughter.

"Oh, this is going to be good. Don't you think, Carrots?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Chief, look, I can explain!"

"I'm sure you can, Hopps! Inappropriate workplace relations with your partner-"

"No, we didn't do anything! Chief, it's not what it looks like!"

Chief Bogo snorted as he looked directly at Nick's shirt that was still hanging off of Judy.

"I'll tell you what it looks like-"

"But it isn't! Nick took off his shirt and-"

"That is quite enough, Officer Hopps! I should fire you right here!"

Judy's face flushed as she realized how that must have sounded. "N-no, that's not what I meant," she squeaked, her long ears drooping. "H-e… his shirt… it w-was…" Judy turned to Nick, who was casually leaning against the back wall of the Chief's office, a smirk on his face as he watched Judy dig herself a hole of regret. "Nick, _tell him!_ "

Nick looked up at the Chief, who was standing with his large arms folded over his bulking chest, his nostrils flaring with anger. "Keep it short, Fox," he snarled.

"Short?" Nick gave a hollow laugh. "Alright, here are the highlights," Nick began, but Judy could already tell he was only going to make things worse.

"No!" she gasped, but it was too late; he was already launching into his explanation.

"Judy was at my apartment."

"Nick, no!"

"Hopps, shut your mouth and let him speak!"

"We had dinner." Nick shot a smug look at Judy.

"Don't you dare," she hissed.

"And I took my shirt off before she told me that she loved me. Now, here we are," Nick stated confidently, a shadow of an evil grin playing across his face.

The Chief shifted uncomfortably as he cleared his throat. Judy's jaw dropped, her eyes expanding in absolute shock.

" _Nicholas Wilde_ -"

"Enough! I've heard enough! Hopps, you are going to file an incident report immediately! You'll be lucky to get off with a suspension! Now get out of my office!"

The color drained from Judy's face as she looked on the verge of tears. "But, sir-"

"Out!" the Chief hollered, his voice rattling the pictures hung on the walls.

Judy looked at the floor as she slunk out of the office without a single glance in Nick's general direction. She was going home, that decision was final, and that final decision was made before she had even opened the door.

"Chief?"

"Didn't you hear me, Wilde?"

"Yes, sir, I did hear you. I just wanted to let you know that Judy was at my apartment having dinner because she was too afraid to go home. She wanted – no, needed – to talk to someone about her… incident. She told me she loved me simply because we are friends and I was there with her when she was hurt. She was wearing my shirt because I dropped a glass of water that spilled all over her."

The Chief's expression softened, but remained grave.

"I would have thought that after all of this time, you would have come to trust Officer Hopps," Nick stated. "I know I have."

"Hopps, keep a leash on your partner's tricks and I'll let this slide," the Chief stated in a husky voice.

Judy's ears straightened as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, sir," she sniffled.

Nick and Judy then left to go down to the ZPD locker rooms.

"That was a close one, huh, Carrots?" Nick chortled as they began to part ways between the locker rooms.

Judy gave a sincere noise of distaste before opening the door and disappearing from sight.

Nick changed slowly, taking time to admire himself in the long mirror of the locker room. On his exit, he saw no sign of Judy. Assuming that he must have changed quicker than her, he leaned against one of the walls of the hallway and slipped his phone from his pocket. After a few minutes of playing on his phone, a bored expression on his face, he heard the women's locker room door creak open. He looked up to see Judy, who was now dressed in her police uniform attire.

A part of Nick was saddened that she had changed, even though he knew that there was no way she would have kept wearing his shirt; the fact remained that Judy looked good in his clothes. However, she looked just as good in her uniform. Nick's eyes roamed over her outfit for a third time before finally taking in her facial expression. _Yikes_.

Judy looked as if she was ready to kill him, and honestly, she was. "We need to talk," she hissed at him.

"Uh, sure, what about?" Nick attempted to put on an innocent face, but was interrupted when Judy came flying at him, her paw snatching his right ear as she dragged him down the hallway and through the lobby, eyes on them for the second time that day.

"Ow, let go, Rabbit! _Ow!_ That hurts! Clawhauser! Help!"

"Careful, Judy, or you'll break him," Clawhauser sang in absolute joy.

"Oh, I _fully_ intend to," Judy muttered loud enough for Nick to hear.

"Hey, let's be rational now! Ow, my ear!"

Judy painfully dragged Nick all of the way out of the building, around the corner, and to the door of their car. Once at the car, Judy released Nick's ear from her clutches long enough to let his paws fly up to rub the pain away before she slammed his back to the side of the SUV.

"What were you thinking in there?" she snapped at him. "You almost got me _fired_!"

"Oh, Buffalo Butt wasn't going to do anything."

"Can you say the same for me?" Judy asked, a deadly expression in her eyes. She then gave Nick a hard punch to his upper arm, making his face scrunch in an exaggerated version of pain. "You just embarrassed me in front of everyone!" she huffed.

"Uh, correction: you embarrassed yourself in front of everyone."

" _Nick_!"

"Alright, alright! I shouldn't have said that."

"And?"

"And I shouldn't have let you run in there and make a fool of yourself – _Ow!_ " Judy gave Nick another punch to the arm, this one packing double the exertion as the last one.

"I mean," Nick quickly corrected. "I shouldn't have let you go into work with my shirt on."

"And?"

Nick scoffed. "What do you want me to do, apologize, Fluff?"

Judy's mouth upturned into a grin of pure wickedness.

Nick rolled his eyes and ran his paw over his face. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Say it."

"I'm sorry," Nick huffed with a lazy expression, which Judy shook her head at.

"Nuh-uh, a real apology. You've got to mean it."

Nick dramatically slumped against the side of the vehicle as he let out a groan. "Fine," he whined. "Judy, I am sorry for what I did."

Judy let out a "hmph" of triumph as she nodded.

"That will do," she smiled. "Now, let's go follow up on that possible lead we were talking about over dinner last night." Judy opened the car door and jumped up into the driver's seat.

"Oh, hey Carrots?"

"Yeah?" Judy looked back at Nick, who was leaning against the open car door, a smirk plastered on his face. "About last night…"

Judy heard the sound of a tape rewinding and then the unmistakable sound of her own voice.

" _I love you, Nick._ "

Judy looked up in horror as Nick twirled her one-and-only carrot pen in his paw before pressing rewind again.

" _I love you, Nick._ "

"You didn't-"

"Oh, I most certainly did."

The tape rotated back to replay for a third time.

" _I love you, Nick._ "

"Nick, give me the pen," Judy threatened.

"Oh, no, no, no! This is definitely _mine_ from now on. It's going to take some serious convincing for me to let you delete this." Nick removed his sunglasses from his shirt collar and slid them over his eyes before walking around the front of the car to the passenger's side, all while making eye contact with Judy.

Once inside the car, Nick reclined against the seat and tucked the carrot pen into his shirt pocket, patting the pocket to outrage Judy even more, who was watching his little act with growing disdain. With a flick of a wrist, Nick let his sunglasses glide just a little ways down his snout so that he could peer over the top rims at Judy. "Oh, and Carrots?"

"What now?" Judy grumbled.

Nick took note of her ears that were limp with defeat, and her moody expression.

"I love you, too, Darling."


	8. Chapter 8

"Hi, Officer Hopps, ZPD. How are you?"

The rhinoceros security guard fixed Judy with a spiritless gaze before looking down at the ID badges she had handed to him.

"Who's he?" the guard grunted.

Nick sauntered forward with a sanguine expression, prepared to put on a show; Judy beat him to it.

"Officer Wilde, my partner. That's his badge there. Is everything in order then?"

The rhino grunted in reply and swiped his security key into the consoles in front of him, unlocking the steel security gates. "Main office is just ahead."

After praising the rhino for his help and not receiving a reply, Judy and Nick made their way up the winding road that led to the Zootopia Maximum Security Prison. The massive prison looked dark and depressing, just as most prisons are expected to look, as it loomed over the horizon.

Seeing how much walking they were going to be doing in the next few minutes as they made their journey towards the prison, Nick decided to strike up a conversation. "You wanna talk?"

"Not until you give me that pen."

"I'll give you the pen if you talk."

"What would you like to talk about, Nick?" Judy sighed.

The loathing in her voice brought a smile to Nick's face. "Up to you."

"Who asks a person if they want to talk, but then tells the person to pick the conversation topic?" Judy scoffed.

"Someone who loves you," Nick replied affectionately.

Judy couldn't help but giggle slightly. "I hate you so much sometimes."

"If you hated me that much, you wouldn't have asked me to come with you to do this."

"This is your case."

Nick let out an audible gasp as he laid the drama on thick. "My own case? What an honor!"

"Very funny" Judy remarked dryly. "Do me a favor and try to keep the sarcasm to a minimum in here."

"No can do, Carrots."

"And why is that?"

"Well, if you can recall, this sheep would have darted me with a serum that would have made me maul you if not for the fact that I happen to love blueberries, so I have quite a bit of sarcastic things to say to her."

"Bellwether is doing her time, Nick. She's paying for what she did."

"Yes, but that apparently didn't stop her from finding a way to dose more animals, including a fox, and not just any fox, a fox that you just _happened_ to be chasing, and not only was this fox dosed, but he was dosed right before he-"

"We don't know if Bellwether is behind this," Judy reminded him. "I just thought it would be a good idea to start with the most obvious suspect."

Nick didn't reply for a few minutes, and in fact, he didn't reply at all; he changed the subject. "So when do I get to meet your parents?"

" _What_?"

"When do I get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Carrots?"

"Nick, you've already met my parents."

"Well yeah, but I met them as your partner and your friend."

Judy stopped walking and looked at Nick with perplexity. "What else would you meet them as?"

"Your boyfriend."

Judy couldn't help but laugh. "My what? Nick, we aren't dating."

Nick pretended to smack his forehead. "Ah, right, I forgot!"

Nick stopped, which made Judy stop and investigate why he wasn't moving. They weren't even half way to the prison and they had already been walking for twenty minutes. Nick falsely straightened his tie and his shirt before smoothing back his ears. Confounded, Judy watched the spectacle. After thirty seconds of pretend grooming, Nick looked into Judy's eyes, a serious pout falling over his face. He then stopped. "Oh, wait, Judy, what's your middle name?"

"What? I'm not telling you that!"

"Ugh, fine, you always have to make things harder," Nick complained before putting the intense pouty face back on. "Judy WhateverYourMiddleNameIs Hopps, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I don't find this funny."

"I asked politely!"

"Are you being serious?"

"What if I told you that you get the pen if you say 'yes'?"

Judy's interest piqued. "I get the pen, huh?" she thought out loud.

Nick took the pen out and waved it around teasingly.

"Give the pen to me first," Judy demanded.

"Say 'yes' first."

"Nick!"

Nick hit the rewind button on the carrot pen.

" _I love you, Nick._ "

"Stop playing it!" Judy snapped.

"Say it then."

"I have a case to solve," Judy said as she turned and started walking again, leaving Nick behind.

Nick wasn't hurt, he wasn't even angry; he was happy. She was playing hard-to-get and he loved every minute of it. She would say 'yes' eventually – there was no doubt in his mind – it was just a matter of how long they would play the flirting game; Nick could play it all day.

After going through three different security checks, filling out a moderate amount of paperwork, and waiting for a little under thirty minutes, Judy and Nick were allowed into a private interrogation room. Bellwether was in a heavy set of cuffs, her orange prison uniform looking slightly dingy.

"Geez, they act like she's going to kill someone. She's just a sheep," Judy heard Nick mutter under his breath.

"Oh, Judy, how good it is to see you again!" Bellwether cried cheerfully. Her eyes glanced at Nick, her gaze filled with disgust, before she turned back to Judy with a false upbeat attitude.

"Tell us about the Night Howlers," Judy cut right to the point.

"I'm sorry, the what now? Oh, do you mean the _Midnicampum Holicithias_? Such an awful drug, especially to predators." Another hateful glance at Nick, who was beginning to notice, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"We know that you know about the ones on the street, Bellwether," Judy continued.

"Now, Judy, how would I know that? I'm in prison!" Bellwether exclaimed.

"By the way," Nick cut in. "How is prison?"

Judy shot him a look; what was he doing? Bellwether's expression went cold as she focused on the fox.

"I'm sorry?"

"I asked how being in jail is."

"I hardly see how that matters."

"Just a question. I take it isn't going well," Nick said as he shook his head in phony sympathy.

Bellwether remained silent, a scowl on her face.

"I'm sure a little sheep like you isn't doing so well in here with all these big predators," Nick mused. "Hey, weren't you arrested for trying to take down all predators? Wow, how… _unfortunate_."

" _Don't you have a bunny to eat_?" Bellwether snapped.

"No, but I do enjoy pork chops."

Judy's eyes widened at how quickly the situation escalated. "Nick!" she said in a surprised tone.

Nick held up his paw to quiet her. "Speaking about eating bunnies, did you hear what happened?"

Bellwether huffed impatiently, but remained silent. Judy watched Nick as what he was doing dawned on her.

"Judy was recently attacked by a fox that went savage after having some Night Howlers. Almost killed her. Isn't that a coincidence, Carrots?"

Bellwether glanced at Judy before looking back at Nick.

"Thing is, I don't need to ask you if you had anything to do with it, because the fox already gave me all of the facts. Mr. Silver was quite insightful."

"He didn't know my name!" Bellwether shouted before clamping a hoof to her mouth.

Nick smirked. "No, he didn't know it, but I do now."

Judy called for guards to escort a fuming Bellwether back to her cell, letting them know that the sheep had contact to the outside and that security needed to be doubled.

"Check the interrogation tapes if you need to," Judy told them.

"Nick, that was amazing!" Judy laughed as they began making their way down the road to their car. "You just got her to confess! Now they can review the security cams and see who her informant is! We've got them now!"

Nick let out a chuckle, but remained silent.

"You know," Judy toyed. "I might just think about saying 'yes.'"

Nick took the bait, his ears perking up. "Really?"

"Really," she replied as she began walking a little closer to him. Nick stopped suddenly, making Judy stop with him, their bodies only centimeters apart.

"Why did we stop?" Judy asked,

"I just wanted to…" Nick leaned in close.

Judy's heart fluttered as she felt his paws on her waist. He wouldn't, would he? He was so close; she could feel the heat of his breath. Judy's eyes fluttered shut.

"Take this," Nick whispered.

Judy opened her eyes to see Nick a few inches away now, the carrot pen in his paw and a triumphant look on his face.

"Don't think I didn't see you pick this up in security, Rabbit."

Judy scrunched her nose angrily. "That wasn't fair!"

Nick shrugged and began walking again, while Judy stared in disgust at his figure sauntering away. She heard the pen start playing.

" _I love you, Nick_." … " _I love you, Nick_." … " _I love you, Nick_."

" _Ugh, Nick_!" Judy yelled after him.

She heard him call over his shoulder, his voice clearly expressing the smirk that he must have been wearing: "It's called a hustle, Sweetheart."


	9. Chapter 9

"The answer is 'no,' Nick."

"But-"

"I said 'no!'"

Nick's ears flattened against his head as he pouted. "You're such a buzz kill."

"And you're irresponsible! Honestly, who goes to get coffee in the middle of a stakeout?"

"Me, when the stakeout involves an all-nighter."

It was 1:43 in the morning. Judy and Nick had been sitting in their SUV for hours. They were just on the outskirts of Sahara Square, parked on an abandoned street that ran in front of several run-down buildings, including an old canned-food factory that they believed was the location of the Night Howler operation. The Zootopia Maximum Security Prison security tapes had revealed that a rat had been sneaking in to inform Bellwether of the operation. With the help of some other officers and traffic cameras, Nick and Judy had tracked the rat down to this location. This was it, the break they had been looking for.

"All I'm saying," Nick continued. "Is that a little bit of coffee wouldn't hurt-"

"I see movement! Let's go!" Judy exclaimed as she hopped out of the car.

"After all, I need coffee to function – Carrots? Carrots!" Nick looked up to see Judy across the street, her back pressed up against the brick wall. She already had her tranquilizer gun pulled from her holster, ready to take down an unexpecting suspect.

Nick exited the vehicle and jogged over to her location.

"What are you doing?" he whispered urgently.

"I'm putting this thing to an end." Judy kicked the rusty door open and began making her way inside, Nick following close behind.

The two made their way through a maze of old machinery and boxes until they came to the central room of the factory. Voices could be heard just ahead.

"Ay, I did my job!"

"If you did your job, then that bunny cop wouldn't be alive, now would she?"

"How was I 'posed to know she had a partna?"

"You were supposed to dose _her partner_ , you idiot!"

"Well, then who'd I dose?"

"The fox who was working for us! He was the bait for the cop, and you shot him!"

"Al'ight, al'ight, I'll get him next time."

"There won't be a next time, you dumb rat, because I'm doing it!"

"Aw, come on, Boss. How ya gonna do it? They'll see ya comin' a mile 'way!"

"The shot will already have been taken by then."

Judy looked at Nick. "They have dart guns," she mouthed silently.

Nick nodded as he quietly removed his own tranquilizer gun from his belt. He watched as Judy peeked her head around the pile of boxes they were currently using as coverage. Several tables were set up as makeshift gardens, all filled with Night Howlers in full bloom. At the end of one of the tables stood a sand-colored mountain lion, who was loading a dart gun. The rat informant stood on the corner of the table, handing the big cat the bluish-purple pellets filled with the Night Howler serum.

"Mountain lion," Judy mouthed at Nick.

Nick gestured at the door as his lips spelled, "Call for back-up."

"No way!" This time, when Judy's lips moved, noise actually escaped, as she was unable to contain her outrage.

Realizing her mistake, Judy's eyes widened as her heart began beating quicker. Her ears shot up as she listened for any movement; there was none. _Uh-oh._

The boxes around them came tumbling down as the mountain lion attacked.

"Run!" Judy screamed as they took off down the rows of Night Howlers.

The mountain lion was on all fours, his muscles rippling as he viciously pounced after them. Nick turned and flipped one of the tables onto its side, momentarily blocking the cat's path. Judy began climbing a pile of boxes that towered up toward the building's upper floor scaffolding, Nick was at her heels, pushing her up when she came to a box that was too large for her to climb on her own. The big cat began scaling the boxes at a rapid pace, but the lower rows of boxes began tumbling down, making them all sway back and forth in an unsteady motion that made the cat fall back down to the floor below with a loud growl. Judy and Nick barely made it up onto the planks of the upper floor before the tower went cascading down.

"Go, go, go!" Nick shouted as he pushed Judy forward.

The mountain lion was already back on his feet, making his way for the dart gun that the rat had finished loading and was now holding up eagerly. Nick's foot slipped, breaking through the thin layer of wood beneath them.

"Nick!"

"Keep going!"

"Not without you!"

"My foot is stuck, just go!"

Judy ran back to him, frantically trying to help him free his foot from the wood. On the lower floor, the mountain lion took his aim. Nick saw the gun point at him, and with one fluent motion, he snatched Judy's pair of handcuffs from her belt and cuffed his right paw to the rickety railing of the walkway.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Judy shouted at him as she fumbled to get the handcuff keys from her pocket.

"Carrots, listen to me! You need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"You have to go-"

"No!"

" _Judy_!"

Judy stopped searching for the keys and looked into his green eyes. "Nick-"

"I love you-"

 _Bang!_

The trigger pulled, sending a perfectly circular ball of the Night Howler serum out of the barrel of the gun and up towards Nick's location. With a splatter, the ball shattered against the side of Nick's neck, blue liquid staining his fur. Nick bit down as he attempted to scrape the liquid off of his skin, but the effects were instantaneous. Judy's breath caught in her throat as she watched Nick begin to wriggle in discomfort. On the floor below, the mountain lion was laughing menacingly.

"Freeze!" Judy yelled as she picked her tranquilizer up from where she had placed it on the wood earlier while attempting to help Nick.

"You can always catch me, but can you contain him?" the mountain lion jeered.

Judy looked to where the mountain lion's eyes were gazing. Nick was on all fours, well, almost; his paw that was cuffed was awkwardly being held up as he hissed and growled at Judy, his eyes wide.

"Oh, Nick…" she sighed, heartsick. This was her fault; she should have called for back up, but she didn't. Nick was right; she didn't know when to quit.

The mountain lion began sprinting for the door, but didn't make it very far when Judy's tranquilizer gun's dart went flying into the back of his left shoulder. With an angered snarl, he collapsed on the floor, his breathing heavy. Just then, a set of claws grazed across Judy's cheek, leaving a series of long scratches in their wake. She cried out and looked to find Nick lashing out with his free front paw. Judy reached up and touched her cheek, feeling the fresh cuts that were now covering the old ones that Gideon Grey had inflicted long ago.

Nick snarled as he continued to attempt to twist out of the handcuffs in order to attack Judy. She wasn't afraid, she was simply disappointed in herself for letting this happen. With a sigh, Judy removed the syringe full of Night Howler antidote from her belt. After the incident that led to Bellwether's first arrest, Judy stayed on the safe side and kept a bit of the antidote with her at all times.

Careful to avoid his claws, Judy stuck the syringe into the base of Nick's neck and waited patiently. Working like a sedative, Nick was out in moments, his breathing ragged.

"You're going to be okay, Nick. I promise," Judy murmured, more to reassure herself than Nick.

Minutes passed, but Nick still didn't stir, his breathing now becoming shallower.

"Nick?" Judy asked worriedly, afraid that something had gone wrong.

Without any warning, a copy of Judy's voice rang out through the quiet factory. "

 _I love you, Nick_."

Still lying on his back, Nick handed Judy the pen before running his free paw over his face with a groan.

"That's going to hurt in the morning," he wheezed as he massaged his neck and shoulder.

Judy laughed as she fought back tears. "You jerk."

"Hey, I gave you the pen, didn't I?"

Judy snorted as she looked at him affectionately.

"What?" he asked. "Why are you giving me the bunny eyes?"

"Yes."

"'Yes' what?"

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Nicholas IDon'tCareWhatYourMiddleNameIs Wilde."


	10. Chapter 10

Nick and Judy called back up to have the mountain lion arrested. Unfortunately, the rat got away with some of the Night Howlers, so the case was still open, but with the main supplier arrested, things were starting to look better than they had weeks earlier. It wouldn't be long before the rat was behind bars and the Night Howlers were off the street once again.

The Chief arrived with the officers and was the first one to find Nick and Judy, who were still up on the scaffolding. With the help of a miniature lift, the Chief was able to get to the second story without having to put more weight on the already fragile wood, but his expression clearly showed the questions forming in his mind as Judy and Nick came into view. They both smiled at him, greeting him friendly, but after a while, it was apparent to the Chief that this had been more than a simple stakeout turned into a Night Howler bust. Nick's foot was still stuck in the wooden plank, his paw still handcuffed to the railing, and Judy had a slightly bloody scratch across her cheek, her tranquilizer lying next to her. They had both silently agreed to not let Chief Bogo know _all_ of the details; it was easier that way.

"What on Earth happened here?" he bellowed at the two.

Neither one knew how to respond at first, so the Chief kept talking.

"I get a call that you cracked the case open and I show up to find you all cuffed up and stuck in a plank," the Chief pointed a hoof at Nick.

"And you," the Chief turned towards Judy. "All I can say is _my God_ , what happened to your face, Hopps?" It was an enraged question, not a concerned question.

Nick quickly looked at Judy's cut face, panic coming over him.

"We've had a rough night, Chief," Judy laughed. "But we got the guy and we know where to go from here, so just give us a minute to get ourselves figured out and – Nick?" Judy had been midsentence when she had briefly glanced over at Nick to simply include him in the conversation, only to find that he was clutching at his chest, his breathing harsh and loud.

"Wilde, what's the matter with you?" the Chief barked.

Nick looked from Judy to the Chief, his breathing becoming rougher, his paws first clawing at his chest, and then the handcuffs.

"Get these off," he wheezed. "Judy, get them off!"

Judy grabbed the keys and undid the handcuffs, allowing Nick to hold himself with both paws.

"Nick, are you okay?"

"Help me get out," Nick gasped as he began clutching at his trapped foot.

"Get me a saw, now," the Chief ordered over his communicator while Judy tried to calm Nick down.

Moments later, Nick's foot had been freed after the wood was cut loose. However, Nick was still having some sort of fit, as he was now curled into a ball, still gasping for air.

"Nick, what's going on? Talk to me," Judy pressed as she tried to pull his paws away from his chest. "Can you breathe? Are you hurt?"

Nick looked up into Judy's eyes in a panic, and recognition dawned in his eyes as if he were seeing her for the first time.

"Judy," he breathed before snuggling his head up under her chin and wrapping his arms around her, as if he were a child.

The Chief cleared his throat. "We'll clear out now, Hopps. I think you've got this under control."

The factory fell silent once more as the patrol cars drove away, leaving the pair alone.

"Nick, what's going on?" Judy asked quietly as she attempted to hold the fox that was two times her size.

"The cut… on your face… and muzzles… foxes…" He wasn't speaking in full sentences, but Judy got the gist.

"I'm fine, Nick, it's just a little scratch. They aren't going to muzzle you, I promise." Judy could feel Nick shaking and it was becoming clear that he was having a panic attack from the crushing anxiety that was crashing down on him in waves.

"Don't leave, Judy… don't leave," he whimpered.

Judy's heart fell, as his usual cockiness was gone, now replaced by fear and sadness. There was no sarcasm, there was no flirting, there was just Nick's real emotions coming through loud and clear.

"I won't," she whispered.

"I'm so sorry, Judy."

"You don't need to be sorry."

"Your face… and your neck… and the fox that hurt you when you were a kid…"

"Nick, those things just make me who I am," Judy sighed with a smile. "None of that is your fault."

"I should have been there," Nick muttered. "I should always be there."

"Nick, things happen, and we can't always control that."

"I want to hear that story," Nick said.

"Story?"

"Of that fox that hurt you when you were a kid… if that's okay."

Judy thought of that day when she had decided that she was going to be an officer, that day when she decided to stand up to the bully who had taken tickets from the other animals, that day when Gideon Grey had swiped her cheek and left her in the dirt.

"When I was nine," she stated softly. "A fox was bullying some of the other bunnies and sheep. I stood up to him, and he scratched me."

"What did you do?" Nick had finally calmed down, but he was still cradled against Judy.

"Picked myself up and went on with life."

Silence fell between them for a few moments as the two enjoyed one another's company. Despite the uncomfortable wooden plank supporting them, and the dusty old factory that surrounded them, there was no place either one of them would rather be.

After a few minutes of nothing but the wind blowing outside, Judy felt Nick shift slightly and then heard the telltale sound of the carrot pen's tape rewinding.

" _Yes, I'll be your girlfriend._ "

"You're unbelievable," Judy giggled as she playfully punched him.

"And you're not single."

There it was: the sarcasm, the warmth, the teasing. In an instant, the serious moment turned flirtatious, and Judy found herself laughing at it all. Nick sat up, still close to Judy, and looked into her amethyst eyes.

"Why are you laughing?" Nick asked as he started to laugh himself.

"I don't know!" Judy giggled.

"Well, stop laughing, I have a question," Nick stated lovingly before patiently waiting for her to control her laughter.

"Does that mean that I can do this…?" He leaned in, his paws finding her waist. Judy leaned in, her heart skipping a beat, her eyes fluttering shut, before they snapped open in disbelief.

"Are you trying to take the car keys?"

Nick stopped abruptly, slowly putting the car keys back onto Judy's belt.

"No?" he replied in an innocent voice.

"Nicholas Wilde!" Judy rolled her eyes in complete disbelief.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do when you never let me get coffee?" Nick whined.

"Apparently jumping out at red lights always works."

"And risk getting a lecture? No thanks, I'll pass," Nick smirked.

"You know you love me," Judy teased.

"Do I know that?" Nick grinned at her before answering his own question. "Yes, yes I do."

"Hey, that's my line," Judy giggled cheerfully as she grabbed his perfectly loose tie. With a teasing look, Judy pulled Nick closer and kissed him. Instantaneously, the two found one another intoxicating. Every emotion they had ever felt toward one another was now finally being expressed in one simple action. Both fell into the kiss easily, as if they had done it a million times before. After a few blissful moments of their emotions finally becoming physical, they withdrew from one another, still staring into each other's eyes, the memory of the kiss still on their lips.

"Thank you," Nick breathed.

"For what?"

"For helping me. For believing that I was better than what everyone else thought, better than what I thought… and for the kiss."

Judy chuckled at the cheesiness in his words. "Thank you," she stated in a blissful tone.

"What for, Carrots? The kiss?"

"For letting me know when to quit."


End file.
